To date over 1,500 productions have used facilities or services provided by The Pinewood Studios Group. By 2013 it is planned to have a combined square footage of nearly one million square feet of studio space across all of its facilities. The company was subject to a corporate takeover in 2011 by the Greater Manchester based company The Peel Group who subsequently acquired a majority control 73% stake whilst Warren James Jewellers retained a 27% shareholding, preventing a full takeover that has not impeded on the operational integrity of the company.[2]

The Pinewood Studios Group was formed by merger of Pinewood and Shepperton Studios at the start of the new millennium. The company floated on the London Stock Exchange in 2004 as Pinewood Shepperton Plc.[3][4] In 2005, Teddington Studios was purchased by the Group.[5][6]

A period of rapid international expansion began in 2009 when The Pinewood Studios Group took over sales and marketing of what was then Filmport (now Pinewood Toronto Studios). Then within three months, three new ventures were announced, two being completely new studio complexes. The first was Pinewood Iskandar Malaysia Studios in partnership with Khazanah Nasional Berhad (the investment holding arm of the Government of Malaysia).[7] Next came the announcement of Pinewood Studio Berlin. Then in February 2011 the company announced that it was planning to open a 35-acre film and television studio in the Dominican Republic.[8][9]

In November 2007, Pinewood announced a £200m expansion plan, known as Project Pinewood.[12] If built the development would see replicas of streetscapes and zones replicating locations from the UK, Europe and the USA.[13][14] Planned zones include a college campus, Amsterdam, modern European housing, Venice, Lake Como, Paris, an Amphitheatre, Prague, West coast American housing, warehousing and downtown New York sets, Chicago, Vienna, a castle, a UK canal, Chinatown and a London street market built.[15] In addition it will also be used as residential housing, with the proposed creative community, expected to be in the region of 2000 and 2250, being integrated with the film locations. Job creation is also a key part of the plan, helping to boost the economy of both the region and the nation as a whole[15]

An application for planning permission was formally submitted in June 2009.[16] However, the planning application was still rejected by South Bucks District Council in October 2009, following a prolonged opposition campaign by local residents, who formed a "Stop Project Pinewood" group.[17] Pinewood have since appealed the decision and a public inquiry commenced on 5 April 2011.[18] The outcome of the inquiry has not yet been published.

Pinewood Studios is probably most famous for its connection with the James Bond film series. It has also been the home for many productions over the years, large and the small. With a total of seventeen stages (including the 007 Stage, Underwater Stage and TV studios), Pinewood is the UK's largest and most prolific studio.

Shepperton Studios is often described as the home for independent filmmaking in the UK but it has also been used for the production of a number of blockbuster films including Captain America: The First Avenger, which used eight of the fifteen stages at Shepperton.

Teddington Studios is a specialist television studio complex on the banks of the River Thames. It has eight television studios ranging from 383 sq ft to 8,891 sq ft. The first UK sitcom to be shot in high definition, The Green Green Grass was shot at Teddington Studios.

In 2011, The Pinewood Studios Group created Pinewood Films to help fund and provide facilities to independent British films with budgets of approximately £2million. Pinewood Films would invest equity up to 20% per film with the intention to support four films each year.[19]

Pinewood Toronto Studios is a major film and television studio complex in Toronto. The 11-acre site has over 250,000 sq ft of production space, comprising eight stages including North America's largest purpose-built soundstage.[21]

The Dominican Republic will be the home of Pinewood Indomina Studios, a film and television production facility. When it initially opens in 2012 a highlight will be an eight acre water facility including a 55,000 sq ft exterior tank with natural ocean horizons and blue screen capabilities. In Phase 1, there will be 74,000 sq ft of soundstage space.[22]

Pinewood Studio Berlin is a partnership between The Pinewood Studios Group and Studio Hamburg. The joint venture provides film production services and first class film and TV stages (ranging from 6,481 sq ft to 25,900 sq ft) to European and international filmmakers, making it easier to take advantage of the benefits of filming in Germany.[23]